contra-, contro-, counter, contre-

1. Merchandise or possessions that have been imported or exported illegally: When smugglers bring contraband goods into a country, they do so against the laws of the government; such smugglers go against the law.
2. Etymology: from Latin contra-, 'against + bando, "proclamation, ban".

The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievements regarded collectively: A contraculture usually consists of smaller groups that have values or beliefs that are directly opposite to those which are accepted by most of the people of a country or area of that nation.

1. To affirm the opposite of; to state what is untrue or erroneous; to deny categorically: There was a rumor going around that Susan was going to marry Steve, but she contradicted that right away! They weren't going to be married. They were just friends.
2. To be directly opposed to a statement or an action; to go against: Jim's mother was contradicting herself because; first she said that he could go to the movies with his friends, then she said he could not go!
3. Etymology: from Latin contradicere, "to speak against"; from contra-, "against, opposite" + dicere, "to speak, to say".

1. Characterized by asserting or expressing the opposite of a statement which was made previously: Mike was being so contradictable by first saying one thing; then an hour later, he was denying it!
2. Descriptive of being inconsistent about or being inconsistent with: The witnesses were giving contradictable information, each one describing the accident in a completely different way.
3. That which can be argued against; such as, the truth or correctness of someone's statement or claim about something: James told his friends that his mother was going to have another baby; however, it was a very contradictable statement because she was not pregnant!

1. The action of speaking against or in opposition to an action, a proposal, etc.: During his talk in class, Tim's arguments for saving electricity was in complete contradiction to the daily use of desktop computers for all of the students in class.
2. The action of declaring that something is the opposite of what was indicated previously: There was a complete contradiction of what Michael's father said yesterday and then today; because, first he wanted to go on vacation with the whole family, but now he says that everyone will have to stay home because there isn't enough money for a trip!
3. A state or condition of opposition in things compared; a variance or an inconsistency: Susan became a vegetarian because she was against killing animals for human use, but the contradiction to this belief is that she wears shoes and a jacket made of leather!
4. A statement or phrase which is presented in terms that are the opposite of each other: Some examples of contradictions are "fair taxes, working vacation", and "true fiction".

1. Relating to having the quality or character of denying that a thing stated is completely true: The students in class gave contradictory stories about the fight that took place outside on the playground.
2. Pertaining to being inconsistent in itself; containing elements opposed to each other: The people who saw the accident happen gave contradictory accounts to the police, each one saying something different.

Kate gave contradictory statements regarding where she was when the thief stole her money; first, she said she was in the store, then she claimed that she was in the park.

A difference between two things, made by presenting their different qualities: "There was obviously a definite contradistinction between the painting and the sculpture when they were shown together at the exhibition."

contradistinctive (adjective), more contradistinctive, most contradistinctive

A reference to differences as seen in opposing qualities or characteristics.

contradistinctively (adverb), more contradistinctively, most contradistinctively

A descriptive term for showing differences in opposition or contrast: "There is obviously a difference between plants and animals in contradistinction to humans."